The number of people hospitalised after cycling crashes rose by almost a third last year.
Nearly 1,900 people were admitted as inpatients in 2020, with the figure including 501 children — with 201 of them under nine years of age.
71 people over the age of 70 were also hospitalised due to a cycling crash in 2020.
Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon said he was recently involved in a serious crash while cycling in Moycullen, Co Galway.
“I was struck by a motorist in an SUV, I am now out of action,” he told Newstalk radio.
“My knee has been very, very seriously injured, I can’t put any weight on it for three months, and I’m looking at about a year to a year and a half of a slow recovery, getting back to full strength again.
“So I’ve experienced that, as have hundreds of others on our roads over the last number of years.”
The 1,354 males and 534 females hospitalised last year, a total of 1,888 people, compares to 1,437 the year before.
Last year the largest amount of hospitalisations were in the south and southwest of the country, involving 379 admissions.
That is followed by 371 in the hospitals run by the Ireland East Hospital Group.
